Image: NOAA
Myth: Sandy was a normal hurricane
Hurricane Sandy had an asymmetrical wind field, which means its most powerful winds were located in its left-rear quadrant, making it anything but normal. Most storms of Sandy's caliber are strongest in the front, right quadrant.
What's interesting about the storm is it underwent an extratropical transition during the storm, says Forrest Masters, a wind engineer at the University of Florida. "Sandy's a slightly different animal than we've been looking at in the past."
This transformation made it difficult for Masters's team to track the storm as it headed toward their southern New Jersey base. It also means that when Sandy first made landfall, east coast residents only experienced partial wind load and might have misjudged the severity of the storm. —Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato
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6 Comments
Add Comment7. Readers love to click multiple times to read a single article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisre: effect of "spring" tides on storm surges. The author states the effect probably would be only a few centimeters. I have observed several spring tides along the central NJ shore and the effect is more like 1 - 2 feet higher than on a week before or after a spring tide. The low tides during spring tides times are extreme also with large areas of wet sand being exposed that is normally covered other times. Another effect on storm surges that I have never seen mentioned is low barometric pressure. Think of "sucking" water up a straw. A drop in pressure of 10% would cause a rise of nearly a meter even if there were no other factors involved!
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this2. Georgevv...
Thank you for your comment. I thought maybe things are different on the east coast.
Here on the west coast spring tides have significantly greater swings in water movement. The difference can easily be seen by anyone who pays attention. A difference of a couple of inches wouldn't even be noticeable.
I do. I wish I could click every other word. It's so informative and entertaining.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs Cumbre Veijo still being monitered?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLet us hope that the volcano holds secure.
Best wishes,
Marg.
hanmeng: Just hit the print button and you'll see the whole article. No extra clicking necessary.
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